


Declaring Intentions

by grahamcracker76



Category: White Collar
Genre: Episode Related, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Timestamp 04x02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24394276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grahamcracker76/pseuds/grahamcracker76
Summary: Peter realizes there is a conversation they haven’t had, a conversation that is long overdue.
Relationships: Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey
Comments: 6
Kudos: 72





	Declaring Intentions

**Author's Note:**

> 04x01 and 04x02 give me all the feels! But I just had to write a fix-it to smooth things over after the while Maya thing. This is how I imagine it could have been resolved.
> 
> Also can I just say I loved seeing Logan’s dad from Gilmore Girls again - he makes a good bad guy. Also I love how Mozzie insists on knowing Peter’s intentions with Neal - we know he’ll be giving him the shovel talk. And you know Peter was totally jealous of that kiss.

Peter Burke is no stranger to jealousy, and he won’t pretend otherwise. But when he looks up to see Neal kissing Maya, the sudden spike of jealousy he feels is so strong it eclipses everything else as it rushes through him, hot and ugly.

He closes his eyes and swallows hard, trying to resist the urge to reach out blindly and smash anything in reach. His fingers clench tight, and he sets the glass he’s holding down on the table with care - it’s a miracle it doesn’t shatter in his grasp.

When he looks up again, Neal is still kissing Maya soft and sweet, his thumb gently stroking her temple, tucking her hair behind her ear. Peter inhales with difficulty, unable to tear his gaze away. Glutton for punishment, that’s him.

He remembers when Neal would kiss El like that - he can picture it so clearly, like it was yesterday. It is everything and nothing like he is kissing Maya, and the comparison makes him feel hot all over with mingled anger and desire, guilt and regret.

He can’t look any more. He grips the side of the table in a futile attempt to still his shaking fingers and busies himself with his bartending book, but the words blur before his eyes.

“Peter?” says Neal’s voice, closer than he expected. He jerks away in surprise and scrubs a hand over his face, shaking his head as if to clear it. He can’t look at Neal; he doesn’t trust himself to.

“Peter, come over here,” Neal is saying, taking his arm and leading him to sit on a sturdy wicker chair. There is silence for a long moment, neither of them saying anything. Peter focuses on his breathing.

“This is because of Maya,” Neal says. It’s not a question, so Peter says nothing. He breathes, in and out, in and out. He stares at their feet. He tries not to think how strange Neal’s ankle looks without the tracker anklet. He thinks uncharitable thoughts about himself then, pretending it makes him feel a little better about all of this. “Peter,” Neal says again, insistent, questioning, and worried.

Peter clears his throat, his mouth dry. “I… yes,” he admits in a voice that doesn’t sound like his own. There’s no point in denying it, after all - Neal could always read him too well for his own good, anyway.

“You’re jealous,” Neal states simply - but this is anything but simple.

Peter heaves a sigh and leans forward, putting his head in his hands. “Yes,” he says, and it’s not jealousy that’s now twisting in his gut, but guilt. “And that’s the problem - I had no right.”

Neal inhales sharply, and then his hand is resting against Peter’s back, warm and firm. Peter jerks in surprise and then relaxes into Neal’s touch, long missed. “You had every right,” Neal says quietly. Peter can hear the self-deprication in his tone, and he knows that Neal is beating himself up right now, and that, he cannot stand.

“Not your fault, Neal,” Peter tells him fiercely, meeting his gaze at last. “I was the one who told you to run, remember? I know you didn’t want to leave, but I had to keep you safe. We thought you were never coming back. None of this is your fault. And it’s not like I expected you to remain celibate forever - El and I would have wanted you to be happy, Neal, even if you couldn’t be with us.”

Neal looks back at him steadily, his eyes sad. “I’m sensing a ‘but’ here,” he says.

Peter sighs. “But,” he continues, “they told me to forget you, and I couldn’t. I could never forget you, so I started looking for you. Before Collins, it was partly because I couldn’t stand not knowing where you were, and also…” He hesitates, but the damage is done - and Neal deserves to know everything. He deserves to know how serious they are about this… about him. “El and I were going to follow you there if we couldn’t find a way to bring you back.”

Neal’s breath catches at that, and his hand stills where he’d been rubbing gentle circles against Peter’s back. “Peter,” Neal breathes, stunned and disbelieving. “I… you… but your life is in New York. I would never ask…”

Peter catches him before he can pull away, cupping his face between his hands and leaning their foreheads together. “Our life is with you,” Peter corrects him. “Doesn’t matter where. And the point isn’t that you would ask… it’s that we would do this, for you.”

Neal shakes his head wordlessly. “Peter…” he says, “I didn’t know. I had no idea you even… Peter.”

He reaches for Peter then, for the first time since Peter came to the island. Peter knows that Neal had been keeping him at arms length until this moment, perhaps unwilling to tempt fate, but now he pulls Peter in, shaking apart in his arms.

“I’m starting to realize that you didn’t know,” Peter says softly, holding Neal close, “and that’s partly on us. We didn’t make it clear, before. But Neal, _you_ are our happy ending. We’re not letting you go that easily, so don’t let go of us.”

“I never did,” Neal tells him quietly, his face hidden in Peter’s shoulder. “I missed you every day… but remembering was too painful. I thought I would never have that again, so…”

“So you tried to move on,” Peter nods. “I get it Neal, and I don’t blame you. I understand. But since we weren’t clear before, let me be clear now. El and I will never forget you. And wherever you go, whatever happens, I will always find you.”

Neal meets his gaze and nods, his hands coming up to cover Peter’s. “Okay,” he says, and nudges forward, sealing their promise with a kiss. Peter kisses him soft and slow and deliberate, trying to tell Neal with lips and tongue everything he couldn’t put into words:

_You’re ours._

_We love you._

_We will always keep you safe._

_We will always come for you._

Neal presses closer, and Peter thinks he understands.

***

E N D

***


End file.
